China has successfully developed a hydrogen-coal co-firing technology that for the first time could achieve a 50-percent green hydrogen blending ratio and 100-percent pure hydrogen combustion.

This marks a major breakthrough in China's clean low-carbon hydrogen-coal co-firing technology,China Central Television(CCTV)News reported,citing developments learned from China Energy Group.

The technology employs a fully self-developed hydrogen-coal mixed low-nitrogen burner and incorporates a comprehensive safety protection system covering the entire process from hydrogen transportation to furnace combustion,according to the CCTV News report.The system enables hydrogen and pulverized coal to be fully mixed and combusted within the boiler,and a hydrogen blending ratio of 50-percent by heat value was achieved on the experimental platform.

"This also means that when green hydrogen is used,coal consumption and carbon emissions can be reduced by up to 50 percent,while effectively controlling nitrogen oxide(NOx)generation,"the report said.

Since China has the world's largest installed coal-fired power capacity,the low-carbon transformation of thermal coal holds significant practical importance for achieving the country's"dual carbon"goals,industry analysts said.The country aims to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The achievement validates a promising technological pathway for significantly reducing carbon emissions from future coal-fired power units,and it is of great significance for advancing the green and low-carbon transformation of China's coal power industry and promoting the integrated development of coal power with new energy sources.

While many emerging economies face the same dual challenges of large coal-fired power stocks and the instability of new energy sources,China's technological pathway could provide those countries with replicable and scalable solutions,analysts said.

Lin Boqiang,director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University,told the Global Times that the breakthrough overcomes the traditional challenge of achieving deep integration between coal-fired power and new energy,validating a new synergistic development model in which coal power functions as a flexible regulating source alongside green hydrogen and renewable energy.

In the current complex international situation,mastering this independently controllable clean coal-fired power technology means that China possesses greater resilience on the energy supply front.It not only ensures the stability and reliability of energy supply,but also provides strong technological backing for achieving the country's"dual carbon"goals,according to analysts.

China's hydrogen energy industry is moving from the trial exploration stage into a new phase of orderly development and innovation-driven breakthroughs,according to the China Hydrogen Energy Development Report released by China's National Energy Administration(NEA)last year.

As of the end of March 2026,China's total renewable energy hydrogen production capacity exceeded 1 million tons per year.Of this,operational capacity surpassed 250,000 tons per year,more than doubling compared with the end of 2024,while capacity under construction exceeded 900,000 tons per year,according to data from the NEA.